They say rain on your wedding day is the mark of a happy marriage, and if the weather was any indication for Cynthia Riggs and Howard Attebery on Saturday evening, the couple will be together for a very long time.

Two months after they wed, Cynthia Riggs and her husband Howard Attebery hosted an Islandwide gathering at the Cleaveland House in West Tisbury Saturday to celebrate their union. Tables were decorated with all kinds of delights, including a cake with a quote from Dr. Attebery: "You know, love is a great place to spend he rest of your life."

Cynthia Riggs and Howard Attebery were married Saturday before a crowd of family, friends and well-wishers in the West Tisbury Congregational Church, adding a long-awaited chapter to a love story that has captured hearts and imaginations around the country.

In a home known for fostering literary talent and housing traveling artists, conversation at the Cleaveland House has been consumed lately with talk about place settings, tablecloths, decorations and flowers. A how-to book on marrying at an older age lies on the entry table amongst works of great authors.

It had been 62 years since Cynthia Riggs had heard from Howard Attebery. The two had worked together during the summer of 1950 at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, sorting and counting plankton at the San Diego laboratory. At 18 years old, Ms. Riggs was a long way from her home in West Tisbury. It was the first time she had ever travelled to the West Coast but she was eager to emerge herself in scientific life.

Cynthia Riggs of Martha’s Vineyard and Dr. Howard R. Attebery of San Diego are delighted to announce their engagement to be married this coming spring, 2013.

The couple met 62 years ago in San Diego where Ms. Riggs had a college job sorting plankton at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Point Loma Lab. Dr. Attebery was already working at the lab. To ease the boredom of sorting plankton, the two exchanged notes written in code on paper towels.